Major Expansion of Alphabet Position

Berkshire Hathaway substantially increased its investment in Alphabet during the second quarter of 2026, ending the period with nearly 106 million shares across Class A and Class C stock. The position was valued at approximately $37.8 billion as of June 30, according to the conglomerate’s regulatory filing.

The company added about 48.1 million Alphabet shares over the three months. This represented an 83 percent increase from the roughly 57.8 million shares held three months earlier. Looking further back, Berkshire owned about 17.8 million shares worth $5.6 billion at the end of December 2025.

Roughly $10 billion of the expansion came through a private placement announced in June. Alphabet sold Berkshire 14,212,035 Class A shares and 14,359,656 Class C shares in that transaction. The remaining portion of the increase, valued at around $7 billion, was acquired on the open market. The overall addition amounted to a $17 billion jump in the stake’s size.

The enlarged holding placed Alphabet as Berkshire’s third-largest U.S.-listed equity position. It ranked behind Apple, valued at roughly $66 billion to $69.7 billion, and American Express at about $51.3 billion to $51.9 billion. The Alphabet stake moved ahead of Coca-Cola’s position of approximately $35.1 billion.

Shift from Net Seller to Net Buyer

The Alphabet purchases formed part of a broader change in Berkshire’s equity activity. The firm bought about $23.5 billion of stocks in the second quarter while selling roughly $3.7 billion. This ended a streak of 14 consecutive quarters in which Berkshire had been a net seller of equities.

For the first six months of 2026, Berkshire reported $39.4 billion in equity purchases and $27.8 billion in sales. Despite the increased deployment of capital, the company maintained a large liquidity position. As of June 30 it held about $35.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents along with $324.9 billion in short-term U.S. Treasury bills within its insurance and other businesses. Cash reserves had stood near a record $397 billion in the first quarter before declining to roughly $360 billion by the end of the second quarter.

Other portfolio changes included a 44 percent increase in the Delta Air Lines stake, adding about $1.6 billion, a move that reversed earlier skepticism toward airline stocks. Berkshire also raised its Macy’s holdings by 142 percent, or roughly $100 million, and added approximately $280 million to homebuilder Lennar while establishing a small position in D.R. Horton. In July the company completed its $6.8 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison.

Context of AI Investment and Leadership Transition

Alphabet has indicated plans to raise $80 billion to expand computing infrastructure supporting its artificial intelligence products. Berkshire’s growing stake represents a sizable commitment to one of the companies investing most heavily in that area. Warren Buffett previously stated that he initiated Berkshire’s Alphabet investment, though Greg Abel now serves as chief executive and oversees capital allocation with the firm’s investment managers.

Investor Michael Burry, known for predicting the 2008 subprime crisis, expressed concern about the leadership transition and recent spending decisions.

Burry noted that Abel has deployed only a portion of the large cash reserves and described the early moves as framing steps rather than major investments. He did not recommend shorting the stock. Shares of Berkshire declined more than 3 percent in the week surrounding the disclosure, even as the company conducted its first major buybacks in two years. Alphabet shares also retreated amid separate developments involving departures of AI personnel.

The latest filings confirm a clear change in Berkshire’s approach to equity markets after an extended period of net sales, with Alphabet now occupying a prominent place in the portfolio.